..Ulcerative colitis (UC) can be maintained in remission with 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) medications, but frequent non-adherence by patients who are feeling well has been associated with more frequent flares of colitis...

Patient defined dichotomous end points for remission and clinical improvement in ulcerative colitis

..The use of clinically important end points would strengthen the validity of study outcomes. Our aims were to identify objective end points in standard disease activity indices for remission and for improvement in ulcerative colitis...

..Therefore, in patients prescribed 5-ASAs for maintenance of remission, annual surveillance might be overly burdensome and inefficient. We aimed to determine the ideal frequency of surveillance in patients with UC maintained on 5-ASAs...

..Numerous observational studies have investigated the association between H. pylori infection and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Our aim was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of this association...

Transient or persistent norovirus infection does not alter the pathology of Salmonella typhimurium induced intestinal inflammation and fibrosis in mice

..Recent recognition of the role of Rho-regulated gene transcription by serum response factor (SRF) and its transcriptional cofactor myocardin-related transcription factor A (MRTF-A) suggest a novel locus for pharmacological intervention...

..We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to obtain accurate estimates of the predictive power of the identified mutations (such as p.R702W, P.G908R, and p.Leu1007fsX1008) in NOD2 for the risk of complicated disease...

..So, going forward, how do we quantify the risk of this serious adverse event? This review details how we define the maximum risk when no (or very few) events have occurred with an easy-to-use equation. ..

Identification of symptom domains in ulcerative colitis that occur frequently during flares and are responsive to changes in disease activity

..However, invasive indices are commonly used in clinical research. Our objective was to determine whether endoscopy is necessary for the assessment of disease activity in patients with ulcerative colitis...

..This review critically evaluates the current body of literature on the role of statins in the treatment and prevention of gastrointestinal cancers, with particular focus on clinical and observational studies...

Perceived and actual quality of life with ulcerative colitis: a comparison of medically and surgically treated patients

..Our aims were to compare the perceived utility assigned by UC patients with and without a colectomy to standardized chronic UC and post-colectomy scenarios, and to compare the utility of actual health states among groups...

..However, excessive radiation increases risk for malignancy. We aimed to identify automatable algorithms with high negative predictive values for significant CT findings in patients with CD who present at the emergency department...

A randomized trial of rectal indomethacin to prevent post-ERCP pancreatitis

..The aim of this study was to systematically review the published literature regarding prevalence, risk factors, incidence, natural history, and the effect on quality of life of constipation in North America...

..In the meanwhile, it is recommended that acute liver failure patients be managed in experienced centers with ready access to liver transplantation to optimize outcomes in this rare but frequently fatal illness...